This invention relates generally to a method of manufacturing a carpet of one or more fibers and devoid of external chemical binders, the carpet preferably being constructed of a single material which is recyclable.
It has been found desirable to manufacture a recyclable carpet without using external chemical binders, such as latex, to bind fabric layers together in a carpet structure. The term "external" as used herein describes any chemical binder other than binder fibers which may be present in tufts or in one or more backings.
Entanglement of two pre-formed layers to construct a recyclable carpet is well known in the art. For instance, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/041,601, pending at time of filing hereof, teaches a recyclable carpet wherein a pre-formed secondary backing is attached to the back side of a pre-formed tufted primary backing by either needle entanglement or fusion bonding, both backings being preferably non-wovens. U.S. Pat. No. 4,390,582 to Pickens, Jr. et al. discloses entanglement of a pre-formed carrier member to a needled batt, wherein tufting of the needled batt is executed subsequent to such entanglement.
Entanglement of a woven scrim to a non-woven material is also known, as taught by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,360,554 and 4,725,476 to Campbell et al. and to Mussallem, III, respectively.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,787 to Chaplin et al. teaches a composite formed by attaching, such as by entanglement, a carded web of non-woven fibers to a self-bonded non-woven web. The self-bonded non-woven web is formed by extruding a molten polymer, quenching the molten polymer to form filaments, drawing the filaments into fibers, and collecting the drawn fibers, where the fibers bond to each other in a collection device. However, since the disclosed composite is directed principally to diapers and other such hygienic products, the self-bonded non-woven web is not taught to be tufted prior to being attached to the carded web of non-woven fibers.. Furthermore, there is no disclosure of any effect of the attachment step upon the properties of the carded web of non-woven fibers.